What about getting a plugger and plugging the backyard from the front yard grass?

 

That's def an idea I haven't really considered, I was turned off from plugs after I calculated I needed over a 1000 for 12" spacing. Have you tried this before, my big concern is that lawn in the front is okay but I'm hoping another year I can get it healthy.

 

I have plugged my yard before (6000 ft2) with Meyer Zoysia. The problem with plugging is that it is a 3 - 4 year process to get full coverage. Of course that depends on how many/close you pattern out the plugs. I did everything wrong that you could possibly do so it took mine a little longer to fill in completely. If you follow the advice on fertilizing zoysia in these forums you may be able to get coverage quicker but it will be atleast 2 - 3 years to get something you are happy with. Also, with moderate shade, it will slow down the spreading process. I bought 1 pallet of sod and cut it into approximately 2 inch squares and planted those in a 12" x 12" pattern. It is a very long process but if you use something like a proplugger to cut your sod into plugs, it may go a lot quicker.

I've always thought that if I were going to do it again, I would buy the pallet of sod and plant it in full sheets and then use that as my plug source. You could probably harvest 2 times a year from the same source since you are in Texas and probably get full coverage in 2-3 years and have part of your yard looking good almost immediately.

J

 

Have you looked at King Ranch turf grass krturfgrass.com? They have Emerald zoysia at their Arlington location, the online price is $250 per pallet but it's usually cheaper when you call them. When I priced my tiff 419 the online price was $160 pallet and $95 when I called them. They have other zoysias as well, some might show out of stock online but you just need to ask them. Each pallet is 450sf so you'll need 4, you can buy them 1 at a time as your budget allows assuming you have a truck or trailer to haul them.

Sean

 

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Going to be following your progress closely. Just moved to a new place with heavy compacted soil and a backyard in need of some renovations. I wanted to move towards a dwarf bermuda variety, but the lack of consistent sunlight on the sides of my house, would prevent this. It's my first growing season here, so I'm not 100% sure about the sun's trajectory. I'm considering advancing the soil conditions during the first year and then killing off the existing grass in year 2, to move to Zoysia.

What's your game plan for your soil compaction?

 

I did emerald zoysia in the backyard and while it thrives in the sun/shade just fine, its a total bear on the mower. Stuff is really hard to cut I guess and if I skip a week without PGR Im doing multiple cuts to get it back down lol. Stuff is absolutely gorgeous though.

 

I honestly am not too sure yet, I'm still on the fence for renovating because sod takes me out of budget and zoysia seed takes way too long to mature.

I'm Contemplating scrapping the idea until next until I have a bigger budget. For now I'll focus on weed control/soil health amendments and top dress with compost after I core aerate.

If I did rennovate I would till the top 6 inches and water it for a couple of weeks to settle and then have someone put a finish grade on it with a skid steer. I have heard people say that contributes to more compaction but a lot of reputable sources say it's okay.

Don't listen to me though I'm a super lawn newbie with a limited budget lol

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Going to be following your progress closely. Just moved to a new place with heavy compacted soil and a backyard in need of some renovations. I wanted to move towards a dwarf bermuda variety, but the lack of consistent sunlight on the sides of my house, would prevent this. It's my first growing season here, so I'm not 100% sure about the sun's trajectory. I'm considering advancing the soil conditions during the first year and then killing off the existing grass in year 2, to move to Zoysia.

What's your game plan for your soil compaction?

 

Thanks for the link Sean, there prices are really good even online! Unfortunately the price of sod is just out of My budget this year and contemplating scrapping this idea until then next until I can sod. I was quoted $295 from another place in Arlington which was outrageous I thought

Have you looked at King Ranch turf grass krturfgrass.com? They have Emerald zoysia at their Arlington location, the online price is $250 per pallet but it's usually cheaper when you call them. When I priced my tiff 419 the online price was $160 pallet and $95 when I called them. They have other zoysias as well, some might show out of stock online but you just need to ask them. Each pallet is 450sf so you'll need 4, you can buy them 1 at a time as your budget allows assuming you have a truck or trailer to haul them.

Sean

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond Sean! I may look into proplugger to possibly plug st Augustine instead since it spreads fast and is also in the front yard. If not I'll probably use sod next year and focus on soil health for another year.

I have plugged my yard before (6000 ft2) with Meyer Zoysia. The problem with plugging is that it is a 3 - 4 year process to get full coverage. Of course that depends on how many/close you pattern out the plugs. I did everything wrong that you could possibly do so it took mine a little longer to fill in completely. If you follow the advice on fertilizing zoysia in these forums you may be able to get coverage quicker but it will be atleast 2 - 3 years to get something you are happy with. Also, with moderate shade, it will slow down the spreading process. I bought 1 pallet of sod and cut it into approximately 2 inch squares and planted those in a 12" x 12" pattern. It is a very long process but if you use something like a proplugger to cut your sod into plugs, it may go a lot quicker.

I've always thought that if I were going to do it again, I would buy the pallet of sod and plant it in full sheets and then use that as my plug source. You could probably harvest 2 times a year from the same source since you are in Texas and probably get full coverage in 2-3 years and have part of your yard looking good almost immediately.

J

 

So I have a follow up question, I think I'm going to buy a pallet so sod and create my own plugs like you mentioned. I'm going to use sod around the perimeter of the house and cut the rest into plugs.

Is the math as simple to find out as
One piece of sod: 16x24". Total area 384"
Plug size 2x2 inch total area 4"

384/4= 96 plugs per piece of sod??

If so that is extremely cheap than buying plugs or buying 4 pallet of sod.

My backyard is only 1800 sq ft

I have plugged my yard before (6000 ft2) with Meyer Zoysia. The problem with plugging is that it is a 3 - 4 year process to get full coverage. Of course that depends on how many/close you pattern out the plugs. I did everything wrong that you could possibly do so it took mine a little longer to fill in completely. If you follow the advice on fertilizing zoysia in these forums you may be able to get coverage quicker but it will be atleast 2 - 3 years to get something you are happy with. Also, with moderate shade, it will slow down the spreading process. I bought 1 pallet of sod and cut it into approximately 2 inch squares and planted those in a 12" x 12" pattern. It is a very long process but if you use something like a proplugger to cut your sod into plugs, it may go a lot quicker.

I've always thought that if I were going to do it again, I would buy the pallet of sod and plant it in full sheets and then use that as my plug source. You could probably harvest 2 times a year from the same source since you are in Texas and probably get full coverage in 2-3 years and have part of your yard looking good almost immediately.

J

 

I haven't done the math but it looks correct to me. I just used a flat shovel to cut 2" squares in the sod and then used a drill to bore a shallow hole in the ground and then stepped on the plugs to mash them in the ground. Keep them moist for about 3 weeks and you should be good to go. This is a lot of work so be prepared. My wife and kids still haven't forgiven me for this little project.
I still think a proplugger might make this task easier but obviously you won't get quite as many plugs.
I was also plugging into a fescue lawn so I just did it and then started mowing low to give the Zoysia an advantage.

 

Yeah that's absolutely a ton of work for one person covering 6000 sq ft, I'm tired thinking of it !

My only concern is the grade and trying to get the soil right. I'm having someone come in with a skid steer to tear it up and put a finish grade.

Since the soil is compacted will I need to rototill myself and keep the ground wet for a couple of weeks before a finish grade is put on ?

Should I bring in an enriched top soil (loam, compost) to build up the top layer for roots to take? Or does the skid steer break all up for me

 

I am not the best person to answer those questions. Obviously, the better the soil, the faster the spread. My experience with Zoysia is that it is similar to bermuda. It will grow almost anywhere as long as it gets sun, just a lot slower than burmuda.

 

I've seeded ~7,000sqft of Zenith and plugged ~75,000sqft of Meyer across a couple of properties. A couple of thoughts:
1) From any sort of distance, they look identical, especially in color. Meyer has a slightly thinner blade and thicker density, and why I like it slightly better. Zenith runs a little faster horizontally for me.
2) Be prepared for the fight of your life against weeds if you seed. Tilling in the late spring plus fertilizer and water will germinate everything while you wait a month for the Zenith to germinate(or for plugs to root in). Also have a good watering strategy ahead of time for the seed to keep the soil moist for ~45 days if seeding; I did not enjoy moving sprinkler heads every morning, afternoon, and evening while waiting on the Zenith to get established.
3) Plugging is a long term play. Expect the plugs to disappear that first year, barely creep the second, and finally make a decent lawn the third at 12" centers. That second year will look rough, with a polka dot lawn that winter with dormant zoysia between what was already there. I've had better results in terms of spread and filling in between plugs by getting away from regular granular fertilizer applications and spraying 0.1 LB N2 per 1000sqft every time there is rain in the growing season up to once a week. It's more work though.
4) I have always been so afraid of bringing any soil onto my property that wasn't already there, in case there was a little sprig of Bermuda in it. That's a losing battle for Zoysia on its own.

 

I was in your shoes this time last year, my front yard looked like crap and I came here looking for ideas, I had originally planned on throwing down bermuda seed an calling it a day "self professed tightwad", after several weeks of reading all the inspiring threads on this forum and changing my plans at least 20 times I decided to go all in. I Started by spraying glyphosate then used a Sun Joe dethatcher/scarifier multiple times to break up the soil. After laying a paver walkway I brought in 7 yards of sandy loam topsoil to grade the yard as smooth as possible using the walkway as a starting point, all work was done by hand "literally, I only have one arm" using conduit as a screed and a landscape rake. My grass area is 2680sf so I ordered 6 pallets of Tifway 419. I paid $200 for the topsoil delivered and $790 for the grass delivered and lots of sweat equity.

I realize you are on a tight budget but, in the original post you where thinking about paying somebody $600 to level your yard, why not save that money and level the yard by hand if you are able? You could use that $600 and buy at least 2 pallets of zoysia and have half of your back yard covered.





To give a timeline I started the walkway on July 7th and laid sod Sept. 3rd.

Sean

 

That's beautiful @swebbrrt! To boot you did it in the hottest part of the year. That 419 is beautiful!

 

Sir,
I think I have a good option for you and I'll be doing the same thing in my new backyard that's close to 6k sq ft. A pallet of sod is about 450 to 500 sq ft. Sodding that much area would take 13 pallets if you cut the rolls into 1/4, you could get away with 3 pallets while checker boarding pieces 6"-12" a part. I did plugging at my previous home and it takes a lot of work and time if you plug by yourself. If you do plugging have 3-4 people helping you out. I plan on checker boarding my new backyard with Empire Zoysia for a fraction of the price. The benefits of going this way are faster establishment and after the sod roots, you can spray for weeds. The yard will fill in faster and thicker overall. Zoysia seed is expensive and takes a long time to germinate. The new grass seedlings will be competing with weeds that you can't spray for an extended amount of time. I hope this helps you out.

 

@Redtwin Yeah, it was a little warm I lost about 15lbs. Thank you, your backyard was one of the reasons I chose the 419. That pic was Sept. 22nd three weeks after laying the sod.

Sean